Why this ride
From Wittelshofen it runs 146 km to Wittelshofen; allow about 2 h 40 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49, Watchtower WP 14/28, Watchtower WP 13/50 and back through Watchtower WP 14/28.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho and Watchtower WP 13/50
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 146 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 40
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
There is nothing to climb at Ruffenhofen, and that is the clever part. The Roman fort here, on gently rising ground above the Wörnitz near Weiltingen and Wittelshofen, has never been rebuilt in stone. Instead, the outline of the walls, gates and the buildings of the settlement around it has been traced across the fields with hedges, trees and mown strips, so the whole place reads like a plan drawn in plants. From the little viewing hill you can see the shape of a garrison that has been underground for seventeen centuries.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49.
2. Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49
The numbers here, 13/46 to 13/49, belong to a surveyor's grid, but the line they follow is the old Raetian frontier, which the Romans built across Bavaria in the second century. East of the town of Gunzenhausen it was turned from a simple timber palisade into a proper stone wall, a rarity in the Roman north. The locals later called this wall the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, because they could not imagine human hands had built something so straight and so long. Folk stories said that the devil had built it overnight, and that he had run out of time just before dawn.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 14/28.
3. Watchtower WP 14/28
Near the Franconian town of Pleinfeld, the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the frontier of the province of Raetia, crossed a landscape of woods, fields and small rivers, and a watchtower stood here, one of hundreds along the line. Watchtower WP 14/28 is now a low mound or reconstructed foundation, but it is part of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing. The frontier here was a stone wall, known locally as the Teufelsmauer, the devil's wall, because medieval villagers could not believe that humans had built it.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 14/28 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 48 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 14/28. Next is Watchtower WP 13/50.
4. Watchtower WP 13/50
In the middle of Franconia lies a string of lakes that did not exist fifty years ago. The Franconian Lake District was created by dams on the Altmuhl and other rivers, to hold floodwater and feed the Main-Danube canal, and the biggest of these lakes, the Altmuhlsee, lies right beside Gunzenhausen. Birds love it. The lake is a protected area for waders and ducks, and storks nest on the rooftops in the nearby villages.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 13/50 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 13/50, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtower WP 14/28.
5. back through Watchtower WP 14/28
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 14/28 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtower WP 14/28 sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49.
6. back through Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 comes up about 121 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho.
7. Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho to Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho → Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 to Watchtower WP 14/28
Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 → Watchtower WP 14/28 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 14/28 to Watchtower WP 13/50
Watchtower WP 14/28 → Watchtower WP 13/50 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 13/50 to back through Watchtower WP 14/28
Watchtower WP 13/50 → back through Watchtower WP 14/28 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 14/28 to back through Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49
back through Watchtower WP 14/28 → back through Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 to Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
back through Watchtowers WP 13/46 to 13/49 → Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.